Office of Facilities Planning
Newsletter #54 – August 2004

155.5 Reminder for September:

School begins during the
beginning of September. Those construction projects that are not completed need
to implement additional measures for the Commissioner's 155.5 Regulations for
Safety During Construction. While school is in session measures to now consider
include separating construction from occupied spaces, proper exiting, and the
remaining requirements. Every construction project has these requirements built
into them prior to approval by Facilities Planning. With this reminder we wish
to implore you to be sure these additional items are set up prior to the
students and staff returning to school. This reminder is especially pertinent
for any project that was planned for completion before school begins if the
construction has not been completed.

Since the requirement to submit
an Executive Summary of the Five-Year Plan with each project submission became
effective July 1, 2004, we have had numerous questions regarding exactly what
information is required. Please see the clarification we have posted on our web
site regarding the Executive Summary at:

The fall is approaching and many school districts are preparing to begin
their Annual Visual Inspections. The observation below indicates that some
areas and conditions of buildings are not being closely examined.

During the design of capital projects in two different school districts it
was discovered that steel columns on concrete piers in crawlspaces had rusted to
the point of complete failure (sheared, laterally displaced, and vertically
settled several inches.) It appears that both situations had been subject to
significant ground water in the crawl spaces for many years. In neither case
was the situation identified in the Building Condition Survey or Annual Visual
Inspection.

These were both classic late-fifties/early sixties buildings, of which we
have so many across the state. Access to the crawl spaces was awkward which may
be why the issue was not identified earlier (this is not an overnight-occurring
problem!). Please look closely at your facilities. There can be serious issues
in hidden spaces (like crawl spaces, natatorium ceilings, etc.).

We would like to thank Dave Kuckuk for bringing these to our
attention.

Upholstered Furniture:

We have recently been receiving inquiries regarding the use of upholstered
furniture within classrooms and other student occupied areas. Though there are
no formal rules or laws within the SED Manual of Planning Standards or the New
York State Uniform Fire and Prevention and Building Code, the following
guideline was adapted by the Board of Regents in 1994.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR
IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF SCHOOLS

Although focused on teaching and learning, education must also address the
need to maintain a safe, secure, and healthy school environment. The capacity of
children to learn is impeded if their school environment contains elements which
are hazardous to their health. The State Education Department and educators
throughout the State of New York have a responsibility to assure the school
community and the public that, based on the best available knowledge, school
buildings are safe, healthy, clean and in good repair.

In December 1994, the New York State Board of Regents adopted the
following guiding principles developed by the Regents Advisory Committee on
Environmental Quality in Schools:

1. Every child has a right to an environmentally safe and
healthy learning environment which is clean and in good repair.

2. Every child, parent, and school
employee has a "right to know" about environmental health issues and hazards in
their school environment.

3. School officials and appropriate public
agencies should be held accountable for environmental safe and healthy school
facilities.

4. Schools should serve as role models for
environmentally responsible behavior.

5. Federal, State, local, and private
sector entities should work together to ensure that resources are used
effectively and efficiently to address environmental health and safety concerns.

The SED strongly recommends against the using of upholstered
furniture or carpeting brought in from staff or student homes. There becomes an
issue of air quality and contamination. This could, also, become a problem with
new furniture and carpeting installed within a classroom. With porous surfaces
there is no control as to the contamination that may be present in or on such
items. Dust mites are a common problem found in carpeting and upholstered
furniture. This would require frequent vacuuming with a HEPA filter vacuum to
control the growths. Also, upholstered furniture tends to "grab on" anything it
comes in contact with. Meaning any contamination on children's or staff's
clothing could possibly be left behind. This could include allergy producing
contaminants. Depending on air quality in the areas of use, mold could also
become a problem. Mold could reside in the furniture or carpet and not be
detected for a period of time due to the pile of the carpet or the fabric of the
furniture. In the mean time, staff and students come in contact with the
contaminants.